Meeting Notes - March 17, 2017

Participants in Sansar’s Creator Preview joined several Sansar team members to ask questions, provide feedback, and learn more about the future product roadmap at the March 17 Sansar office hours. Among those in attendance were: Linden Lab CEO Ebbe Altberg, VP of Product Bjorn Laurin, Lead Community Manager Jennifer, and Senior Producer & Audio Artist Torley.

A highlight of both meetings was the news that the next update for Sansar is due in late March or early April, according to Ebbe. Specific details about the update should be available to share during next week’s meeting, added Bjorn. You can learn more by reviewing the discussion highlights from last week’s meeting notes.

For the longer term, there are a number of significant new features being prioritized including:

Collaborative Editing - Two or more people will eventually be able to work together on a single Sansar experience, according to Bjorn. This feature is a big development priority for Sansar and early specs are now in development, so stay tuned for more information including details and estimated availability.

Access Controls - Another priority is the addition of the ability to define and control who can gain access to your experiences, according to Bjorn. This feature will enable creators to charge admission to paid experiences, as well as determine who can access private experiences based on the controls set by the creators. In addition, there will be access controls that establish rules on how items sold on the Sansar Store can be resold or redistributed.

Support for Avatar Accessories - Create accessories for avatars! Make backpacks, necklaces, rings, watches, etc. and put them in the Sansar Store. Expect more detailed specs in about 3-4 weeks, according to Bjorn.

Custom Media Surfaces - You’ll soon be able to create your own custom TV or movie theater with a new feature that will allow you to add video to an object's surface. As mentioned during last week’s meeting, Ebbe reiterated that for this first version, media playback won’t be truly synchronized for everyone, unless you stream a live feed.

“Comfort Zone”Controls - Control how closely someone can get into your avatar’s personal space with new “comfort zone” controls that allow you to customize different levels based on trust and friendship.

360-Degree Sound Support - There will be the forthcoming ability to upload ambisonics (basically, a type of 360-degree surround sound) files, said Torley. Sansar will be using the ambiX (ACN-SN3D) format for simplicity, supported by Google and other major players. Surround sound YouTube videos for your media surfaces will work, too. (You won't need a surround sound speaker setup, it will be "decoded" correctly for a quality pair of headphones such as the built-in ones on the Oculus Rift.)

Sansar Showcase & Meet Up - During each week’s meetings, our team selects at least one showcase experience to tour and discuss. For this week, participants were given a walkthrough of Kyle Vossler’s Media Room (shown above), a new experience that was built by a Linden Lab intern in a single day! In the afternoon meeting, the team also visited Bjorn’s Beach Basketball VR experience in Sansar (shown below). Some Sansar creators inquired about the possibility of a “real-world” meet up in or near San Francisco, so that early creators can interact in person with each other and the Sansar team. Stay tuned for news on when this event might occur!

Want to attend a future Sansar Office Hour? Keep an eye on the Office Hour Announcements section of the Sansar website for future meeting announcements.